Mallee

North-west Victoria

Very Safe National 23.3%

MP

The retiring National MP is John Forrest, who has represented thbis seat since 1993.

Profile

Covering 73,879 sq.km of Victoria's rural north-west, Mallee stretches from Horsham, Stawell and St Arnaud in the south to Mildura in the north and Swan Hill and Kerang in the east. Other centres include Warracknabeal and Dimboola. The electorate includes 31% of the land area of Victoria. (Map)

Redistribution

Gains the area around Stawell from Wannon, the National margin declining from 24.4% to an estimated 23.3% as a result.

Background

Mallee was first contested at the 1949 election and is named after the local regional. The word 'mallee' is of Aboriginal origin and is the name for the dwarf eucalypts that grow widely in this region.

Mallee has always been a safe Country/National Party seat with only three members in the 64 years of its existence. It has been represented by Winton Turnbull (1949-72), Peter Fisher (1972-93), and current MP John Forrest since 1993.

Forrest's first victory in 1993 was narrow, as the Liberal Party used the terms of the Coalition agreement to nominate a candidate against him. The Labor Party finished third in the contest and had issued a how-to-vote card directing preferences to the Liberal candidate. More than 40% of Labor preferences leaked to the National Party, allowing Forrest to defeat the Liberal candidate by 0.5%.

The electorate of Mallee includes the town of Jeparit, birthplace of Australia's longest serving Prime Minister Sir Robert Menzies.

2011 Census Profile

Mallee has the lowest proportion of students attending non-government schools (23.2%), and at 16.7% has the nation's fourth highest proportion of the workforce employed in Agriculture.

2013 Ballot Paper (12 Candidates)

Candidate Name

Party

CREWTHER, Chris

Liberal

CORY, Mark Robert

Palmer United Party

MULCAHY, Amy

Sex Party

CIRILLO, Vince

Katter's Australian Party

LAHY, Chris

Citizens Electoral Council

RIDGEWAY, Allen

Independent

MACALLISTER, Jane

The Greens

MIDDLETON, Tim

Rise Up Australia Party

BULLER, Neil

Family First Party

BROAD, Andrew

The Nationals

COLDHAM, Michael

Country Alliance

SENIOR, Lydia

Australian Labor Party

Candidates

Chris Crewther

Liberal

29 year-old Crewther grew up in Horsham and has long family connections with the Mallee region. He is a lawyer who has worked in private and public practice in Australia and overseas. He spent 20 months working as an international lawyer through the United Nations at the Kosovo Property Agency in Kosovo, resolving property claims for those who lost possession of their property due to the conflict. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Global Voices, an organisation that creates opportunities for young Australians to participate in international diplomacy.

Mark Robert Cory

Amy Mulcahy

Vince Cirillo

Katter's Australian Party

Cirillo is a qualified Bricklayer by trade and was a member of the of the Master Builders Association for 10 years. Currently he owns and operates a table grape vineyard and export business with his family. He is campaigning under the slogan 'Make Mallee Matter'.

Chris Lahy

Jane Macallister

Neil Buller

Family First Party

Buller has lived in and around the Mallee Region for over 15 years. He is a retired Police Officer and has served in the Australian Army. He is actively involved in various community groups, the RSL and is a member of the Retired Police Association. He currently works as a taxi driver in the Swan Hill region.

Andrew Broad

The Nationals

Broad is a cereal, oilseed and prime lamb farmer with 15 years of small business experience. He purchased his first property at the age of 22 and in 2006 won the prestigious Nuffield Scholarship allowing him to study agriculture in over 40 countries. Broad is a former President of the Victorian Farmers Federation and a former Director of the National Farmers Federation. He has been a Board Member of Australian Made, Australian Grown and a delegate to APEC where he has helped to develop the 2020 Asia Pacific Food Security Plan. The 37 year-old is also a qualified pilot, former member of a rock band and farms about 1150 hectares at Bridgewater

Michael Coldham

Lydia Senior

Australian Labor Party

Senior's early career was in nursing and health services management consultancy. For the past 30 years she has held Director and CEO positions in health and other business sectors in the UK and Australia. She migrated to Australia in 1994 and is an Associate Fellow of the Australian Council of Health Service Executives and Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Senior has been Chief Executive Officer of the Lower Murray Medicare Local for the past 4 years.